


Cherry on Top

by Lonessa



Series: Beautifully Wilted [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Just crazy adventures with Neo, She drags Scarlet along with her, Ship - Cherry on Top, Welcome to a new crack ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2018-09-23 07:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9646688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonessa/pseuds/Lonessa
Summary: "Why do I get the impression that you're looking for trouble while in Vale?"{Uh-uh, not looking}Neo corrected with a feral smile.{I AM trouble, darling}Neopolitan. An ice cream fanatic with a devious streak. Scarlet David. A guy with an accent that gets accused of speaking a foreign language all the time. Oh, you think it's impossible for these two to find companionship in one another? Funny, everyone else thought that at first too...Just a look at one of the side pairings in Wilted!





	1. A Sour Start

Neopolitan swung her legs idly as she glared up at the clear blue sky. A small pout graced her lips, and her currently green eyes were sharp and rigid. While anyone could easily perceive her as bored, that was anything but the case.

The lovely ice cream enthusiast was _pissed_.

It took someone with a lot of knowledge concerning the girl herself, and that knowledge only resided in her fellow criminals, that being Roman, Mercury, Emerald, Cinder, and the other guys that didn't really matter. Or, in Neo's mind they didn't.

Just two days ago, her partner in crime, Roman Torchwick, was imprisoned by the biggest idiot in all of Remnant, General Ironwood. Yeah, Neo was livid.

Granted, she was partially responsible for his imprisonment. She willingly helped Mercury fight off Lynae and Slate, with an almost giddy glee might she add, but she wasn't aware that Ruby had run off specifically because she spotted her ginger-haired friend. She merely assumed Lynae had backed her into a corner since the hawk faunus seemed so interested in Mercury's relationship with the cloaked girl.

Obviously, if Lynae had been watching little Ruby so closely, it went far beyond interest, and for Lynae to jump at the opportunity to try and at the very least spook the team leader was pretty alarming, if she looked at it through Mercury's eyes. She swore one day he'd have a heart attack over the amount of thought he put into the girl's safety, even if he didn't consciously know he was thinking of it.

But she was getting off topic.

The problem is that since Roman wasn't sulking around the hideouts anymore, that meant Neo had no one to really pester during the day. Yeah, there was Mercury, but he spent most of his time on campus with the students, primarily Ruby, and with her around he was a lot less irritable, and that meant his reactions weren't nearly as amusing. Neo needed some one-on-one criminal talk from time to time, it didn't mean she was needy in the slightest!

She closed her eyes, breathing in the crisp air. Maybe she could somehow find a way to meet him on Ironwood's ship? Maybe she could convince Ruby to help with that. Ozpin seemed to favor the silver eyed girl, and with that favoritism on her side, then Neo was sure to be able to see him at the very least once, right?

Then again, she would need a reason. What would that reason be? Information? Possibly, considering Neo could easily communicate with him through sign language and she could feed Ironwood false information as directed by Roman. She couldn't really think of another reason...hmm…

Before she could brainstorm more, or alternatively, impulsively seek out Ruby to try and weasel her way onto that ship, the sun that she could see through her eyelids was suddenly blocked out, and the sudden coolness on her skin clued her into the fact that someone was standing in a position that casted a shadow over her small form. She felt her eye twitch in annoyance before her eyes popped open.

"Nyx? What's got you sad?" The redheaded boy asked as he peered down at her, and Neo cocked her head at the concerned look in those green eyes.

Abruptly, Neo sat up before swinging her legs around and sitting properly on the bench, grinning slightly at Scarlet. She wasn't lying when she said that he was a cute one, and she forced Roman out of her mind as she let a twinkle of faked happiness enter her eyes. She took out her scroll and typed quickly, showing it to Scarlet a moment later.

_{Sad isn't in my vocabulary, Scarlet. You were just blocking my sun}_

Scarlet didn't look convinced, but he chuckled softly anyway before taking the seat on the bench beside the small woman. "Well, sorry love. What's brought you out here then?"

_{Mercury is out with Ruby, and I'm not hanging out with Emerald or Cinder. So… here I am~}_

"Ah, I see." Scarlet leant back on the bench, the red coat falling from around his shoulders. "Ever since the breach those two have been joined at the hip, ey?"

Neo felt a pout automatically come to her face as she bobbed her head in an almost childish fashion, gazing out at the peaceful courtyard. Bleh, too bland here.

"Are you… jealous to see them together all the time now?" Scarlet broached carefully, seeing an annoyed being sent his way by Neo. "I mean, I know you don't like that bloke Mercury in that way… but he's your lad, right?"

_{Please speak English}_

He blinked, "But I am—"

_{No you're not. You're speaking Scarlet}_

"…speaking 'Scarlet'?"

_{Yes, the language where you make up words that no one knows and have a funny accent}_ Neo's mouth twitched as she watched his face morph into pure shock and slight offense, his mouth opening slightly as his face scrunched together in the awkwardest ways.

"Make up words? I— are you having a laugh?" Scarlet spluttered, still staring at the scroll. Neo was smiling fully now, her shoulders heaving in silent laughter as she typed a response.

_{Well I'm laughing, if that's what you're asking. I can never be fully sure however}_

He made an odd squawking noise that she supposed was supposed to be a scoff of indignation, but it came across more as an amusing bird noise. Neo giggled without making a noise before she playfully poked his nose, watching with a wide smile as he huffed and crossed his arms.

"Alright, calm down, it's not that amusing."

_{It is to me~}_

Scarlet leveled an unamused look at her, and Neo merely grinned while kicking her feet, scuffing them on the ground once in awhile. The redhead quickly lost his annoyed expression before that weird concerned look overtook him again. Neo wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"You kind of avoided the question though, love. So, does it bother you?"

Neo narrowed her eyes at the green eyed man, suspicion overtaking her. It was most likely Roman's influence, because despite how much she loved the sarcastic crime lord, he could be quite paranoid at times. More so than that one White Fang member he always talked to. What did Roman say his name was? Perry or something?

_{Why do you care?}_

He seemed surprised at that question, tapping his boot on the ground as he replied, "Because I know how much you put into getting those lovebirds together. Figured after that was done, you wouldn't have something to do… Sun mentioned you only did it to see what would happen."

_{While that's true, where did you get the 'have nothing to do' part?}_

"What are you doing right now?" Scarlet challenged.

Neo puffed out her cheeks before making a small hmph. He wasn't wrong, since after the lovely DJS worked smashingly, she really wasn't needed to do much in getting the little gem and the confused spoon together beyond a few redirections on Mercury's part. Now they were together, and Neo… wasn't really needed.

She hadn't had the time to think about it until now. It kind of sucked to be honest.

"…no worries, Nyx." Scarlet wound an arm around her shoulder and shook her in a friendly manner. "I'm sure after they get through that pesky honeymoon stage of the relationship Mercury will spend more time with you."

Neo frowned. It was weird to actually think that she wished for that to be so. A few weeks ago and she would have gagged at the possibility.

She ignored that stray thought though, and merely arched a brow before pointedly looking at the arm around her. Scarlet went red at that, and he drew away quickly before looking away awkwardly.

_Aww, he's a shy one. Well, those can be fun too._

Bouncing up onto her feet, Neo skipped away before turning slightly and looking expectantly at her, to which Scarlet stood with an unsure expression. Neo huffed, typing quickly in her scroll.

_{Come on handsome, I'm bored. Let's find something to do}_

Scarlet crossed his arms, thinking, "Well… I can show you around Vale? I heard you, Mercury and Ruby went out for ice cream, but there's always more to see in a city."

Neo thought on that for a moment, tilting her head upward as her eyes were looking up and off to the side in a cute and peculiar manner. Eventually, Neo grinned and nodded before wiggling her arm between his crossed arms, making it so their arms were linked.

_{Sounds good! Escort me, good sir}_ A wink accompanied the message.

Scarlet laughed before obliging, directing them towards the airstrip, "Why do I get the impression you're going to be looking for trouble while in Vale?"

_{Uh-uh, not looking}_ Neo corrected with a feral smile. _{I AM trouble, darling}_

And so began the adventures of Cherry on Top.


	2. Rude Awakening

Scarlet groaned as he was awoken by a violent barrage of knocks on his team's door. A glance over revealed to him that Neptune had practically dove under his bed with uncharacteristically messy hair and his shirt only half done up. Sun was heard through the bathroom door, a muffled and slightly mumbled _what the fu—_ cluing Scarlet into the fact that Sun was brushing his teeth, already ready to go due to his early rising tendencies, and Sage, ever the calm one of Team SSSN, slowly rose up from his resting position so he was sitting up on his bed.

"What the—"

"Neptune, someone is knocking on the door. Calm yourself and get out from under the bed." Sage sighed, an almost disappointed look in his eyes at the sight of the blue haired teen's predicament.

"Hey, I'm calm." Neptune quickly crawled out from under the bed to stand straight. He shook his hair until it magically fixed into its perfect look, and he buttoned his blue night shirt swiftly. "I just thought it uh… came from underneath my bed!"

"That's just pathetic dude," Sun commented as he swung the bathroom door open, fixing the collar of his shirt while his tail tied his shoe. "But yeah, someone gonna get that?"

"Nose goes!" Scarlet yelled, touching his nose with his pointer finger. Sage and Sun quickly followed, leaving Neptune to glare at the redhead.

"You know I'm not good at that, Scar!"

"That's why I call it all the time, Nep." Scarlet grinned. "Now go greet out guest."

After some grumbling from Neptune, he shuffled reluctantly over to the door. Scarlet stretched and threw the covers off of himself, reaching underneath the bed to pull out his boots as he listened to Neptune's conversation with the guest.

"Huh? Oh, hey there Ny— _ahh!_ "

Scarlet turned his head just in time to see Neptune fall to ground while flailing his arms, and a blur of black and white sped towards him before slamming into him full force. The sudden new weight had him falling on his back as a bright blurry thing was shoved into his face.

"Who are— _what the bloody hell Nyx?!_ "

The small girl that was sitting on top of him had her cheeks puffed out as she shook her scroll violently in front of his face, and he squinted to read her message.

_{Listen here handsome, this is an EMERGENCY!}_

"What is it?" Scarlet coughed. "Actually, can you be a great lass and get off me? I… _can't breathe._ "

Nyx winked as he gasped out the last couple words once she purposely pushed her weight down on him before she showed him mercy and rolled off of the redhead. She ended up somersaulting backwards and sitting on the edge of Neptune's bed, kicking one leg over the other with beaming confidence. Scarlet shook his head before sitting up again, taking in the faces of confusion from his teammates. He ignored that for now.

"Alright love, hopefully this was worth near giving me a heart attack."

_{It is! I can't find Emerald and she was supposed to come with me to get ice cream! I tried to find Mercury and Ruby or someone else, but I couldn't find anyone and then I found your dorm so here I am}_ Neo's sentences slowly began to blur together as she typed at such a fast pace. _{Ice cream is a necessity for me to live and I need someone to come with meee}_

"…can't you go on your own though?" Scarlet asked in confusion.

_{EVERYONE DESERVES A BUDDY}_

"Alright, bloody hell!" Scarlet raised his hand in placation at Nyx's smoldering look. "I'll go with you then. Just give me a couple minutes to change—"

_{Okay I'll be in the courtyard hurry!}_

And with a whoosh of air, Nyx was suddenly gone, leaving all four men to be staring at the door she just exited.

Three pairs of eyes all turned to Scarlet.

"Uh… dude?" Neptune prompted.

"She can't find her friends to go with her to get ice cream." Scarlet shrugged, standing with a large yawn. "Gotta change."

"Woah woah woah, hold up." Sun stepped into the very middle of the room as Neptune stood beside him, already attuned with each other's thoughts on the matter. "That girl just judo kicked Neptune out of the way and straight up tackled you just to go out for ice cream?"

Scarlet frowned, looking at Neptune. "Did she kick you?"

Neptune raised his eyebrows before nodding with an expectant expression.

"Oh. Sorry mate, I didn't know. You alright?"

"Eh, she didn't hit _too_ hard." Neptune rolled his neck casually with false bravado, since Scarlet could tell that Neptune was favoring the side that Nyx no doubt kicked with her booted foot. "But that's not what we're getting at."

Scarlet had changed into his regular attire at this point, strapping his boots to his feet as he arched a brow. "You were actually getting at something?"

"Scar, you seriously can't be that dense," Sun cut in with crossed arms. At his silence, Sun groaned. "Never mind, forgot who I was talking to for a second."

"Hey!" Scarlet yelped, automatically turning to the most straightforward and level-headed of the team. "Sage, what are they saying?"

"They are trying to imply that the ice cream girl likes you." Sage rolled his eyes as he said this. "It's not that hard to figure out, Scarlet."

"I— wha–? Are you havin' a bloody laugh?" Scarlet squawked with wide eyes. "Nyx is a sweet bird, but I highly doubt she likes me in that way."

"For the love of dust, stop calling girls birds." Sun groaned into his hands.

"Ey!" Scarlet threw his arms out. "Would you calm down? Not five minutes after I wake up and all of you are against me."

"Don't be an idiot next time, Scar." Sun shrugged before patting the redhead hard on the back. "Have fun on your date."

Scarlet stared at him blankly. "Tell me, if Nyx came barreling in our room and tackled you, the mute short girl that rode an Ursa during the Breach, and demanded you to go get ice cream with her, would you say no?"

"…I see your point."

"But if I remember right, you jumped on that Ursa with her." Neptune smirked.

"Leaving now." Scarlet ignored Neptune before stepping out the dorm and heading towards the courtyard.

Yeah, today was going to be interesting.


	3. Cute Little Cherry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry for the lack of updates, I am coding like crazy to catch up with my other account! Also there is an OC in this chapter but she won't appear in my main story that this story is attached to.

"So, what ice cream place do you go to?"

_{Oh, it's this little stand by From Dust Till Dawn. Don't know the name, all I know is that ever since Ruby showed me the place, I've deemed it as the best place to get ice cream!}_ Neo was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Oh, you mean Caramel Crystal's place!" Scarlet exclaimed, much to Neo's surprise. "She's a family friend, moved to Vale a couple months back to expand her business. You picked the perfect shop!"

Neo blinked owlishly, eyes turning the shade of chocolate for a moment before they turned green again. Scarlet was surprised, but waited for her to type her response. _{You know the owner?… does she have ice cream shops in Mistral too?}_

"Yeah, and not just the little kiosks like she does here. She's got a big place at Mistral, called The Cheery Cherry." Scarlet scowled a bit at the name. "She always would… er, nevermind."

Neo narrowed her eyes before smiling devilishly. _{Were you the 'Cheery Cherry' of the shop, Scarlet?}_

"No!" Scarlet squeaked at an extremely high pitch. "Er, well, it's just that I—"

"No way!"

"Oh… oh no." Scarlet's face drained of its color while he watched Neo's face twist into pure glee. "This isn't—"

He was cut off again by a woman in her mid-thirties with long, caramel colored hair thrown into a messy bun and pearl colored eyes running to him and throwing her arms around him in an extremely tight hug. "If it isn't my special little cherry! I knew you would visit eventually!"

Scarlet struggled to draw breath as his arms were trapped under her own. "Eugh… hello Miss… Crystal…"

"Oh, none of that! No 'Miss Crystal' from you, Davy!" Caramel exclaimed as she released him, planting her hands on her hips as she beamed another smile at him. "It's Cara to you. Oh, and who's this friend of yours?"

Neo found herself trying very hard not to laugh at the awkwardness that Scarlet's face was currently screaming. She smiled and curtseyed with her adorable charm and typed out her name. _{Hi! I'm Nyx Peridot.}_

"Ah, good to meet you, Nyx. Call me Caramel, or Cara, whichever works for you," Caramel replied kindly as she shook Nyx's hand. "You know, I think I saw you here before. With that silver haired boy and the girl with the cape?"

Nyx nodded while Scarlet spoke for her, "That would be Mercury and Ruby. Normally one of Nyx's friends takes her out for some ice cream, but uh, she couldn't find them today."

"Oh, well that's a shame. They're missing out." Caramel winked at Nyx, who nodded in agreement.

_{Yeah, Merc and Rubes are a thing now, so I would've been third wheeling it if they came}_

"I'm not surprised, that Mercury boy sure was making that girl blush as red as a fire hydrant!" Caramel exclaimed. "If she didn't snap him up soon I would've tried it, haha!"

"Cara!" Scarlet yelped.

"Only joking, Davy. Jeez, can a woman not appreciate a good looking man?" Caramel asked with raised brows and a over exaggerated frown, shrugging with her elbows bent and hands up. Nyx snickered silently. "But anyway, I'm sure y'all didn't come around to hear this old woman rant about good lookin' boys. Come on, I'll getcha some… neapolitan, right?" Caramel continued at Nyx's excited nod, "And of course, a brownie sundae with a cherry on top for my special cherry!"

"Cara!"

"Oh, did you not want a brownie sundae?"

"Well, I do want one, but—"

"Then you're the same little Scarlet as you've always been to me! Now come on, it's on me!"

Scarlet groaned and slapped his forehead, only to glare at Nyx. "Would you stop bloody laughing?!"

Caramel grinned wickedly as she embarrassed Scarlet in front of Nyx, and called out from the kiosk. "Oh, Davy? Where's your team? I've been deprived of Sun's abs for so long!"

"Caraaaa!"

Nyx was nearly in tears at this point, and whatever loneliness she felt before with Mercury and Roman absent melted away.

This, by far, was the most amusing days of her life.


	4. Color Punz Bro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to climb, ya gotta pun bro (or the chapter where Mercury is a dick to everyone, but a funny dick. And Neo hatches a plan that Scarlet will regret soon)

_{Are you still moping or are you going to talk to me?}_

"I'm not moping!" Scarlet objected loudly, having spoken up for the first time ever since they left Caramel's ice cream stand. Neo had managed to goad Caramel into telling a few embarrassing stories, much to Scarlet's chagrin, and while Neo was extremely amused, Scarlet had slowly grown quieter and quieter before he resorted to just sighing melodramatically.

_{Seems like you are~}_

"Well I'm not! Not really, er...I'm kind of moping!" Scarlet shook his head as they stepped off the airstrip and slowly walked along the path in Beacon's courtyard. "It's just— Cara always tells those stupid stories and it gets a tad annoying after the fiftieth retelling."

Neo considered that for a moment, but ultimately gave him a disbelieving side glance. Scarlet merely scowled half-heartedly at the look, and crossed his arms while looking away.

Frowning now, Neo typed a message into her scroll before forcing it into his sight. _{Oh come on, those stories weren't even that bad}_

"Says you! You're not the one that had to— no, no, I am not going to say it."

"Say what?"

Neo blinked before glancing towards the voice. Mercury was walking up to them with Ruby alongside him, who was smiling giddily. Neo waved.

"Hey Nyx! Where've you been?" Ruby greeted.

Neo typed out a message to answer both Mercury and Ruby's questions and tossed it to the couple.

_{I went with Scarlet to get ice cream since SOMEONE didn't show up, and Scarlet doesn't want to admit that he dressed up as a cherry when he was younger for a family friend's business}_

"Okay, one, it wasn't my turn this time. Emerald gets the blame there." Mercury lifted one finger and looked at Neo before lifting a second finger and looking at Scarlet. "And two… that is just a scenario asking for puns."

"Mercury, no." Ruby groaned.

"Bloody color puns…" Scarlet grumbled.

"What, Gem? He's heard it before, he should be _red_ -y for this sort of thing."

Ruby slapped her forehead, looking pained. "Why am I dating you?"

"For my dashing looks and wit, of course," Mercury replied swiftly while throwing an arm around her, a lazy smirk on his face as he glanced at Neo. Neo merely cocked her head and grinned mischievously.

_{Yeah, Scarlet would take puns in stride. He's normally really cherry about everything}_

"Nyx, don't encourage him!"

"Please don't," Scarlet begged.

Mercury smirked wider. "Should the color puns commence?"

"No," Ruby and Scarlet said in unison.

Neo blinked before smiling and nodding happily.

"No!" The redheads repeated loudly.

Scarlet added quickly. "Why don't you torture Neptune with these puns, or… anyone else?"

"Nah, I couldn't do that to Neptune," Mercury declined. "Besides, turquoise is the best color."

Where is he going with that?

"It's _cyantifically_ proven."

Oh. Neo laughed silently.

"Mercury!"

"What is it? That pun just _blue_ you away, didn't it?" Mercury grinned down at the steaming girl.

"I'll get Yang to beat you up if you don't stop."

"I'll be gone before she can even say _yellow_."

"ARGH!"

"You see what you've done, love?" Scarlet crossed his arms and shook his head at Neo, who merely nodded happily in return. As long as the puns weren't directed towards herself, Mercury could run himself dry with puns.

"Should I keep going?"

"No."

"I'm just asking, since I don't want this to get _violet_."

Ruby sighed. "You are seriously the worst thing on the planet right now."

Mercury faked a look of hurt. "Ruby… I gotta _gray_ , that hurts."

"That one didn't even work!"

"If they break up right now it's your fault," Scarlet whispered to her flatly.

_{I'll just find a way to get them together again. I'm the matchmaker after all. OOH! That should be my code name!}_

"And who have you matched besides Rubes and Merc?"

Neo went to type an answer, only to stop and frown quizzically. She… didn't matchmake anyone else. All the other couples just happened while she was focusing on Mercury and Ruby.

_Well that's slightly off putting. Maybe once Roman busts out of prison I can set up a few blind dates for him. I just need to figure out his type…_

"Now now, just _white_ a minute, Ruby." _Oh that little—_

Neo darted her gaze to Mercury, who shot a sly look at her that told her he knew that he was turning the puns onto her. Worst thing is, she technically isn't her fabulous neapolitan colors, so she couldn't complain lest Scarlet and Ruby get curious and start asking questions. Then again, she could pass it off as her love for the ice cream…

"Can't you find something else to spend your brainpower on?" Ruby whined, and she could see that both Ruby and Scarlet were ready to pummel Mercury. Neo merely glared at Mercury as he glanced at her again.

"I don't know, Gem. I'll have to _pink_ about it."

_That little—_

"I'm just— I… I'm done." Ruby sighed, already turning around and attempting to walk away. Mercury was quick to grab the end of her cape and yank her back, causing her to stumble into him. He quickly seized her in his arms with a triumphant smirk.

"Nah, I don't want you to leave yet."

"Well I want to leave!"

"You're not going to though."

"I'm about to start yelling 'stranger danger'," Ruby threatened, and Mercury arched a brow.

"You know, crying wolf will only work so many times before people just stop listening."

Neo rolled her eyes as their remarks began to become less biting and more teasing, and forced down a fond smile as Ruby dropped her forehead to rest on his chest. Instead, she turned to Scarlet and showed him a message. _{Well, I'm bored}_

"Really?" Scarlet blurted in surprise. "And here I thought I was watching a riveting tennis match."

Neo shrugged her shoulders as she glanced at the couple for a moment before smirking deviously at Scarlet. The teen gained a wary look in his eyes, and he asked carefully, "Uh… what're you think— oh, bollocking—"

Before Scarlet could finish his sentence, Neo darted behind him and jumped up on his back, wrapping an arm around his neck while Scarlet instinctively grabbed ahold of her legs to keep her from falling. With her scroll clenched in one hand and her other hand free, she thrust her hand upward with a pointer finger extended, and typed with her other hand to show to Scarlet.

{To Beacon Tower! I have an idea!}

"Uh…Nyx?" Mercury broached in confusion, absent mindedly swaying back and forth with his arms wrapped around Ruby's shoulders, just underneath her chin. "Having fun up there?"

Neo nodded happily before insistently pointing at the Beacon Tower, a plan already formulated in her head. She had her claws hooked to her belt, and she fully intended on using them for an admittedly unorthodox yet adrenaline pumping activity.

"Can I ask what your plan is before we go to Beacon Tower?" Scarlet asked warily, craning his neck so he could see her from the corner of his eye.

"The tower…?" Ruby looked up at Mercury with an equal expression of confusion, and Mercury merely shrugged in response.

"I've learned not to question her when she thinks up something."

_{Want to join us?}_ Neo typed out and showed the duo. She didn't have a hopeful gleam in her eye, nope, not at all.

"Sorry Nyx, I have a meeting with Professor Ozpin. Mercury was walking me there," Ruby informed with a apologetic smile. "If the meeting is over quick I can take a look to see if you're still there."

"I still don't get why you're talking with him again," Mercury cut in, a genuinely perplexed look on his face. "You already spoke to him right after the Breach."

Neo cocked her head as Ruby shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She was about the be evasive. "Well, he just wanted to go over a few things…"

Mercury frowned, sharing a look with Neo, before letting it go and steering Ruby towards the entrance to Beacon. "Okay… tell me how it goes then, okay Gem?"

"Yeah, I will…" Ruby trailed off absently before turning to Neo and Scarlet. She trotted up to them so she could give the duo a quick hug. "Have fun you two!"

Neo smiled and ruffled Ruby's hair while Scarlet gasped out, "Well, if I don't collapse before getting there—"

As Neo smacked the back of his head at the implication, Mercury laughed outright and replied, "Come on, Scarlet, Nyx weighs eight pounds at the most."

Ruby giggled while Neo glared at Mercury and pointed two fingers to her own eyes before turning them and jabbing them in his direction. Mercury merely smirked lazily and winked.

_{Onward!}_ Neo typed this message to Scarlet and gave him a second to process it before she jabbed her heels into his sides, eliciting a squawk from the redhead.

"Oi, don't abuse your ride to the tower, love!" Scarlet protested before trudging forward, promptly ignoring the amused looks from Mercury and Ruby. "And seriously, can you tell me what you're planning, Nyx?"

Neo grinned maliciously. _{Well, we might need a spotter or two, I can tell you that. Go get one of your friends. Preferably the one with the abs}_

"Bloody hell… please don't turn into Cara."

_{Too late~}_


	5. Tower Climbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The anticipated Beacon Tower Climb...finally is here!!

"Uh… so why am I here?" Sun asked while scratching his head, blue-grey eyes looking at the ice cream enthusiast.

Before Neo could even think of typing out a response, Scarlet turned to his team leader and replied, "Well, the bird wants you to 'spot' her for something? Though I'm suspicious as to what since we're right by the Beacon Tower…" Scarlet narrowed his green eyes at Neo, who rocked on her heels innocently and sent a dazzling smile his way. She thought it as a victory when a faint blush arose on his cheeks before it quickly disappeared as he turned back to Sun. "But personally, I was hoping you could help me dissuade her from whatever she's planning to do as my pride has already been ripped away."

Sun blinked. "…what?"

"Caramel Crystal."

"Oh! She sure is something, right Nyx?" Sun laughed as Neo nodded and Scarlet groaned. "We should stop by as a team sometime—"

"We are not bloody talking about this right now!" Scarlet screeched, silent giggles erupting from Neo's throat. He mumbled, "Bloody hell is it the most emasculating feeling to… nevermind, would you just flipping help me?!"

"How am I supposed to do that?!" Sun shouted back as he threw his hands up. "I can barely handle Blake without saying something wrong, how do you expect me to convince the girl that Mercury can barely handle on a good day?"

"I don't know!"

Neo rolled her eyes before letting them bicker and beginning her task.

"Look, you and I know both Mercury is a pretty chill dude, and most of the insanity around here doesn't even make him blink. The only person that does make him lose his shit from time to time is that little bundle of sass and judo kicks. With that being said— wait, woah woah woah, Nyx, what are you doing?!"

Neo glanced down behind her to see both boys gaping up at her, and she moved her gaze briefly to her spikes that were imbedded into the side of the tower before shrugging innocently. Removing one claw, she one handed her scroll to type out a response to their silent judgement and let it drop into Scarlet's hands.

_{I did say I needed a spotter didn't I? Just catch me if I fall, darlings}_

Scarlet threw her scroll back up to her as he objected with such force his voice cracked to an immasculine level, "But I don't- you just- we can't- why?!"

She looked over her shoulder with one brow raised, her expression practically radiating the response of _why not?_ Inwardly, she was giggling at the distressed noises squirming their way out of Scarlet's throat, and as he tried to form a coherent response, she climbed a few more meters.

"Nyx, you could get hurt!" Scarlet exclaimed. "And there's nothing to gain from this!"

_Aw, worried about me?_ She thought with a smirk as she ignored his cries. The two boys began arguing once more, probably trying to think of a way to get her down. This of course only made her amusement skyrocket, and she listened to them bicker like they were background music while she went higher and higher up. Hey, I could probably climb to the Headmaster's window and spy on that meeting if I hurry!

She made it to the first ledge and pulled herself up so her feet could rest on the small space, blinking her green eyes and smiling devilishly. This certainly is turning out to be a good idea!

A sudden rustling of leaves made her arch her eyebrows, and she squeaked as a certain monkey faunus appeared directly in front of her, hanging upside down by his tail on a tree branch.

"Come on Nyx, we can do something else to have fun," Sun desperately tried to convince her. "Besides, Scarlet's gonna have a heart attack if you keep this up."

"Yes! Please listen to him!" Scarlet shouted from below.

Nyx smirked and jumped to the right as Sun tried to grab her, spiking her claw into the stone wall as she regained her balance on the ledge.

"Nyx…" Sun said in warning. "Come on now…"

She threw her scroll at him.

_{But wouldn't it be amusing to see Scarlet freak out? His voice can go to rather high pitched levels, and the bird noises he makes are rather adorable. Plus, you must have fun climbing too, since you seem experienced}_

Sun made a contemplative face as he read the message. "Well… you're not wrong…"

"What did she type?!" Scarlet demanded.

"And I do like seeing Scarlet panic…"

"Sun?"

"Yeah… alright. You know, you've got a lot of evil in you." Sun gazed at her sagely, blank faced before breaking into a huge, mischievous grin. "I like that."

Neo winked in response.

"Sun?…SUN?!"

"Heh, I think he's gonna figure out I changed my mind soon." Sun glanced at her as he used his tail to flip himself up to the next branch.

She typed out a response and jumped towards Sun, him reflexively grabbing her hand and pulling her onto an adjacent branch. She balanced herself perfectly on the thin branch as she showed Sun her scroll.

_{That's the point~}_

Sun laughed at that, and Neo advanced up the tree until she reached the top level of branches. As she leapt back towards the tower and hastily jammed her claws into the divots between bricks, she heard the distinct noise of Scarlet gasping dramatically, so dramatically in fact he somehow managed to choke on air and began coughing furiously. The action was so undoubtedly Scarlet it made her smile. Sun joined her on the tower and smirked at her expression.

"So, Nyx…" she blinked and looked in his direction. "You and Scarlet…"

She cocked her head at him with curious eyes.

"You like him?"

Neo frowned contemplatively, squinting her eyes at the monkey faunus. Like was such a… strong word. Scarlet was a cutie, she had no problems admitting that, and he was quite amusing while flustered, but like? No… she wasn't so naïve to fall for a student. In her eyes, such a relationship was impossible thanks to Roman's connections with the thieving world, and where Roman goes, she goes without question.

Besides, she can control her emotions extremely well compared to her criminal counterparts. Well… when she's in control of herself that is and not influenced by the adrenaline of a fight. That whole ordeal with Yang on the train was beyond her control, and while sometimes it benefitted her there were many times in which it didn't.

But she was rambling, and she was worrying herself over the fact that she was still answering Sun's question in her own head. So she did what she normally does when she broaches toward dangerous territory, and stopped thinking about it and merely shrugged nonchalantly in response.

"Hmm…" Sun hummed suspiciously, still shooting suggestive looks from the corners of his sharp grey eyes. "I guess like is a strong term." _Uh, how did he unknowingly guess her reasoning? Creepy…_ "How about…do you enjoy his company?"

She shrugged again with a cheeky smile.

"Okay, based on the smile I'm going to go with yes," Sun replied with an amused chuckle. When she didn't make any move to respond, he eyed her for a long moment. "You know, Scar normally isn't so doting with most people."

Neo stabbed her right hand claws in between two bricks before whipping her head in his direction. Her right pigtail hit her in the face with the sudden, violent motion, and she scowled at the offending chunk of hair as she spit out a few strands.

Once Sun smothered his laughter toward her misfortune, he climbed a few more feet and continued talking, "I'm just sayin', Scarlet hasn't talked about someone as much as he has about you, and I can tell he enjoys being around you. Just think about it, yeah?"

She felt herself grinning instinctively, but inwardly she wondered if she was making a mistake becoming so close to another student. Well, she was close with other students like Ruby, but not in the way Sun was suggesting.

Food for thought. But the thought would have to wait.

"Nyx! Sun!"

Neo looked down, eyes bulging with some surprise as Scarlet had started scaling the tower as well, his cutlass stabbed in between two bricks while the other hand was gripping onto a ledge for dear life. "I should have known you wouldn't help me with this!"

"What can I say, dude?" Sun shrugged helplessly as he grinned at Nyx. "She made a compelling argument!"

* * *

_Nearly there. This. Is. AWESOME!_

She could see the large curved window of the clock tower, just imagining how she'd perch on the foot wide ledge and peer in with a maniacal grin. Sun was keeping up with her, going brick by brick and not advancing forward to make sure she wouldn't fall. It was a kind gesture, but overall unneeded. She was positive that, if she did fall, she could use her spikes to catch herself on the wall in time.

"This has gone on too bloody long!" Scarlet yelled from about two meters below, having caught up to them in his feverish need to reach them. "You realize we'll be pancakes if we fall now?"

"You didn't have to follow us you know," Sun replied smartly, winking as Neo threw a smirk his way. "Then again, pancakes sound good right about now."

Neo used one hand to type on her scroll. _{Careful. Nora might smash you to pieces if you eat pancakes without her present}_

"Are you seriously thinking about your stomach right now?!" Scarlet screeched. "And whatever you just typed, Nyx, you're not helping!"

She stuck her tongue out childishly in response, her hand grasping the ledge. _Oh! They made it!_

Neo lifted herself onto the final ledge and stood confidently. She gazed out at the academy grounds with glittering green eyes and a wide grin. The students milling around were moving dots in a expanse of green fields and grey paths. Looming trees looked like large green bushes that swayed in the gentle breeze. Sun joined her in admiring the view once he stabilized himself on the ledge.

"Look at that view." Sun sighed, a serene smile on his face. He looked down to the still-climbing redhead. "Scar, get up here! The view is great!"

"I'm a little busy trying to avoid death," Scarlet commented with dripping sarcasm. Neo looked down to see him stab his cutlass into the bricks just a meter below them. She grinned at a sudden thought and typed out a note for Sun to broadcast to Scarlet.

Sun peered at the scroll that Neo held in front of him only to see his eyes bulge and his cheeks to fill with restrained laughter. Fist to mouth, he tried to keep in his laughter, but in result, he made a grinding noise with his throat that no one could properly explain and released his laughter with tear-filled eyes.

"Yo, Yo Scarlet," Sun began, laughing through his words. "Nyx is wondering if you're going slow just so you can take a peek up her skirt."

"Wh-What?!" Scarlet squaked, and did the instinctive human reaction of looking up. His green eyes quickly closed and pools of lava poured into his cheeks. "Oh, oh dear, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to look just now!"

Neo pouted, pretending to look offended. She showed another note to Sun. _{Are my unmentionables not good enough for a reaction beyond that? Wow. How offensive}_

Sun roared with laughter yet again, tilting his head back. "Oh Oum, why haven't I hung out with you before? You gotta stop by more often, Nyx!"

Neo grinned at the prospect. Funny, how just a day prior, she was lamenting over her boredom. While Roman was still imprisoned, which utterly sucked, at least she found a new source of entertainment.

_{Sounds like a plan :D}_

Sun's smile held a radiance she never crossed before. If she wanted to channel her inner-Mercury, or even Yang, she would say it shined like the sun. It felt good to be the cause of it, in a weird way. Even better that it was because she agreed to bestowing Team SSSN with her fabulous company.

Before they could chat more, Scarlet's hand gripped the ledge at last. Neo grinned as Sun held out his arms. "Hey buddy! Welcome to the top."

"And it only took a healthy dose of peer pressu-" Scarlet stopped speaking as his green eyes flicked upward. Neo and Sun shared a look, wondering what he was staring at that happened to be just a foot or two above them, and turned to see… a window. The window to Ozpin's office, to be exact.

Ozpin sat at his desk, chair turned at a diagonal to stare amusedly at the trio, hands pressed together. Ruby sat on the other side, mouth gaping wide before she descended into throws of laughter. Ozpin's small smile grew wider.

"Well," Sun remarked. "I guess we should have thought of that."

Neo winked at the two observing them before typing a note and turning to Scarlet, who had pulled himself up so he stood in between her and Sun. _{See? Was that so bad?}_

"My blood pressure spiked, we're staring at the Headmaster of the academy after scaling what's most likely the tallest building in Vale, and I have absolutely no clue how we are going to get down - besides climbing back down, which, I may add, I'm spent." Scarlet made a sour face. "Yeah. Bloody fantastic."

_{Aww, Little Cherry is sleepy~}_

Scarlet groaned in agony as Sun chuckled at his expense. "Need a nap, Scar?"

"We are officially no longer friends," Scarlet mumbled. "And you're having a laugh if you think I'm scaling back down without my arms giving out. And is Ozpin gonna do something about us just bloody standing outside his office?!"

"I think it's pretty clear he favors Ruby, so she'll be able to bail us out if he decides to do anything," Sun addressed the last part of Scarlet's rant.

_{And who says we're climbing down?}_

"What?" Scarlet quirked a brow.

"What?" Sun parroted.

Neo grinned. It was predatory and malicious. _{I do hope you've practiced your landing strategies}_

Within a breath of a second, Neo was between the two boys. She grasped the collars of their shirts with her hands, and locked eyes with Ruby through the window. With a wink and a kick off the window, Neo and co. were sent tumbling off the ledge and down to the earth.

_"AHHHHH I DON'T WANNA DIEEE!"_ Sun bellowed.

_"WHEN I CALLED YOU A BIRD I DIDN'T MEAN IT LITERALLY, LOVE!"_

Sun groaned. _"I CHANGED MY MIND: THE GROUND CAN'T GET HERE SOON ENOUGH! WE'RE FALLING TO OUR DEATHS AND YOU TURN INTO **YANG.** "_

_"IT'S A STRESSFUL SITUATION, SUN, I CAN'T CONTROL WHAT COMES OUT OF MY MOUTH!"_

Neo heaved a silent chuckle. _So overdramatic._

**Author's Note:**

> *sigh*...I need to stop shipping crack ships. But if I'm gonna suffer, I'm convert some people to suffer with me!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Meet the Parents](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12118767) by [AzMoAn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzMoAn/pseuds/AzMoAn)




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